Man makes surprise discovery under his shed

KEVIN Murray did not know what he expected to find when he lifted up his old garden shed - but World War 2 memorabilia was not on the list.

The Toowoomba man made the surprise discovery of a WW2 ID tag, which belonged to a soldier named Irvine Lesley Fletcher, under his shed in Gentle St.

Buried in the dirt with historical bottles and semi-precious stones, Mr Murray said the tag was a real surprise.

"I had to pull the shed down to make way for a new one. It was off the ground and I noticed in the ground there were some semi-precious stones, but then I found some bottles and other things," he said.

"I then found that ID tag, and I was able to track down the sister-in-law of the soldier from it."

HISTORICAL FIND: Toowoomba's Kevin Murray found a World War II ID tag under his garden shed in a surprising discovery that uncovered historical bottles and trinkets.Contributed

Irvine Lesley Fletcher was born in Caloundra in 1924 but moved to Toowoomba with his family years later.

He made Toowoomba his hometown when he enlisted in the army in 1944.

Mr Murray said he planned to return the ID tag to either Mr Fletcher or his family if he had already died.

"His brother's wife Joyce is still in Harristown," he said.

"I haven't talked to the sister-in-law yet, but I did find him in the electoral roll."

Along with the tag, Mr Murray found pipes, bottles, stones, marbles, coins and even cutlery.

HISTORICAL FIND: Toowoomba's Kevin Murray found a World War II ID tag under his garden shed in a surprising discovery that uncovered historical bottles and trinkets.Contributed